I'm totally on your side. But then, if physical products or other services as reward were forbidden, the big Amanda Palmer campaign would probably not have happened. Most of the rewards were cds, an art book, entrance to more or less private gigs etc. So even though people liked it, all got something in return. And if Amanda Palmer would have flunked and not finished the recording in time or the tour would have fallen through or... they'd all be pissed off. She managed to pull that one off admirably and people are happy with what they got, but that's the same with products. If things go well, everybody is happy. Perhaps the problem is twofold: Artists may be forgiven by their fans for a failure. (Fans are fans in the end) And maybe physical products are much much harder than a T-Shirt.